Travel

One of my favorite aspects of blogging is connecting with & supporting fellow blogger babes. New is to the blogging world is Miss Maddie Picotte — an energetic spirit who shares her love of travel & passion for life on MoretoMaddie.com. I greatly appreciate her collaborating with Lilygreenlove and hope you find her travel tips helpful on your next getaway!

Hello everyone!! I want to first thank Kelli for letting me post on her blog!! Her blog is amazing and full of gorgeous outfits!

Today I wanted to talk about how to prepare for a trip with helpful tips you will be able to use the next time you want to adventure and explore the world!

So I was just recently in Vegas to see Journey! They were incredible by the way! While I was there my Dad’s friend who is a flight attendant told us to check out this crazy helpful app called Hopper.

Hopper will help you keep track of flight prices and book cheap flights to get you to you ultimate destination. You can have the app notify you when price rise and drop and it will predict the best day to buy!

A huge thing I would suggest is PLAN, PLAN, PLAN!!! I know it may sound obvious but sometime people push everything off until all of a sudden your trip is in a month. If you are going out of the country make sure you have your passport ready to go months before just in case there are problems.

Another thing I suggest is ENJOY YOUR TRIP! What I mean by this is that it’s okay to have all these expectations but make sure they are all realistic expectations! Ya know?!?

For example: Say you are planning to visit Hollywood and your expectations are that you will for sure meet the Kardashians… Well I hate to break it to ya but there is a huge possibly you won’t see any celebrities so don’t let it ruin the trip if that doesn’t happen.

A great goal to have on vacation is to try to stay positive the whole time!! It is possible not everything will work out the way you thought and that’s okay, ENJOY YOUR TIME OFF AND YOUR VACATION! Maybe you flew out to Florida to go to Walt Disney World and you thought it would be sunny everyday but one day it rains. You could go explore the resorts, still go to the parks and party in the rain, chill in your hotel room and play a ton of games, eat at a nice restaurant while it rains, etc…

I hope this blog post was helpful!! If you want to see more of my posts my blog is called More to Maddie!! Just go to moretomaddie.com to see posts about travel, crazy things in life, Disney, friendship, advice, family and motivation!

Last week, my husband and I visited his sisters who live in Los Angeles. His parents came along and it was a great weekend of amazing food, sunny walks on the beach and quality family time. We stayed in Santa Monica and ventured down to Venice Beach, which I discovered my favorite street of all time, Abbott Kinney. This magical street is filled with boutiques, restaurants, coffee shops and planters full of succulents that makes it for a perfect California experience. And if you’ve seen my IG, you already know I’m obsessed with all things green, so I was in plant heaven!

I snagged this Michael Stars dress from a cute boutique (similar one linked below) and can’t wait to wear it during the hot summer months. These slides are so comfortable that I picked up from Zara and are such a great addition to my shoe collection. Easy, functional and simple…what’s not to love? Wearing breezy, effortless pieces really put me in a summer state of mind, so it was definitely a shock to my system coming back to blasts of cold wind! But thankfully spring is right around the corner 🙂

It’s been a few weeks since we’ve been back in the Midwest since visiting LA. I loved eating at amazing restaurants (Jon & Vinny’s was the fabulous!), checking out hip rooftop bars and getting my fill of green juices & acai bowls was icing on the cake. If I could put a juice spot on every corner here in Kansas, I would be in heaven.

I picked up this amazing navy shirt at Zara (similar here) and wore it nonstop during our trip. It is versatile and I am obsessed the way it drapes. It is over-sized, but with the deep v-neck I feel the extra material doesn’t swallow me up. I added a scarf for an extra boost to the overall look. Neutrals are calling my name recently and I am doing my best to work them into my wardrobe. They make me feel clean and minimal, which in turn make me feel sleek and put together. It’s funny how wearing what makes you feel confident helps you feel like you can take on the world 🙂

We recently visited Ojai in Southern California for a weekend getaway (while staying in LA). It was so beautiful and had such a relaxing, zen energy about it. This setting was perfect for a great boho look that reflected the romantic resort. I shopped around for an easy, detailed white dress that would not draw the attention away from the overall amazing backdrop. I love being able to Google destinations ahead of time to know what to pack! There nothing worse than showing up with a suitcase full of clothes that are completely out of place for the weather, resort or city. A girl’s gotta be prepared, right?

I am love with this Free People from Nordstrom dress (similar one here) with the long flowy sleeves and small cut outs. The low neckline & open back adds a bit of sexiness without going overboard. The button details provides an interesting element and I think I accidentally missed a button in front! We were rushing to get these pictures taken before sunset so my husband & I were having a hard time with the tiny buttons & proved difficult to do in a hurry. Since I wanted the dress and the incredible scenery to be the focus, I kept my accessories to a minimum with soft beach waves & neutral sandals.

My husband and I had the opportunity to stay at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa as a side trip while visiting LA. It was such an amazing resort with beautiful grounds surrounded by breathtaking views. Walking around instantly diminished any stress & had such a calming energy about it. Not to mention great food and wonderful staff. Overall, it was a perfect weekend getaway!

I had been saving this ASOS maxi striped dress for this location because I thought it would fit in with the romantic backdrop. This flirty number was perfect for the relaxing, serene atmosphere within the resort and reflected the boho feel of this Californian oasis. Minimal accessories, beachy waves & a neutral sandal was perfect way to top this look off.

Dress ASOS / Shoes Lucky Brand / Sunglasses H&M

This off the shoulder number is no longer available, but I found similar dresses pictured below.

I love the look of a fresh, white cover up for summer & this one from Revolve did the trick for our vacation. It was breezy with a little bit of detail in the sleeve and front. The best part was that it was only $30. Below are cute, affordable options from Revolve & ASOS (all under $65).

Also, I paired it with one of my favorite Target black one pieces. You can’t go wrong with a chic, simple suit!

I normally don’t wear bright colors and like to stick with neutrals, black & white. But considering the tropical location, I wanted a fun pop of color for our friend’s wedding. After searching online, I found this dress from Lulu’s.com and fell in love with the criss cross back (they have it in several different colors). Bright, check. Flowy, check. Dramatic, check. Please ignore my prom hair…we thought it would be fun to get our hair done at the resort. My “loose updo” request started to give me flashbacks from high school while K-Ci & Jojo started to play in my head. At least it was off my face and out of my way because the beach reception was very windy.

If you haven’t checked out Lulus.com, you should give it a shot. They have a good variety of trendy dresses that are great for events like showers or weddings. A few of my favorite picks are below. Many of the dresses come in multiple color ways. The more options, the better! The reasonable prices are hard to beat as sometimes I don’t want to invest in dresses I will only wear a few times. I most likely will not be wearing this dress to a church wedding due to the amount of skin shown. But it was perfect for a warm beach wedding!

Thank goodness one piece swimsuits are becoming more & more popular. After having a baby last year, I feel more comfortable without my stomach showing & less pressure to have 6 pack abs. There are many fun, trendy options on the market & grateful that we aren’t stuck with just large, floral printed granny suits. I am in love with this suit from Anthropologie and the lace detailing is beautiful. I may have to add this to my collection before the summer ends.

I purchased the DKNY suit pictured above from Zappos a few years ago. The stripe pattern is flattering and the color is a nice pop. The only drawback with a one shoulder swimsuit is the uneven tan lines that it leaves. This suit didn’t see much pool time due to the intense Mexican sun, but I did enjoy having it as a bright option.

Spending a week in the Cancun sunshine was such a treat. When the biggest decision you have to make is beach or pool, you know you’re on vacation 🙂 Some of our dear friends were getting married, so we were excited to help them celebrate their special day.

I love these types of low-key trips where comfort & ease is key. I recently decided to try the “off the shoulder” trend and this top was super easy to dress up or down. For instance, I wore this for the bachelorette party one night, but then rocked it for a morning walk on the beach. Also, these shorts were very fun for a Mexican getaway with just the right amount of color.